Katherine Webb's Dad: Give 'Brent a Break'

Katherine Webb’s father believes those who are outraged over Brent Musburger’s comments about his daughter’s beauty need to give Musburger “a break.” 

“On one hand, you can look at it as being kind of like the dirty old man, but I’m used to this and I think if you really look into what that he was trying to say, he was trying to be complimentary, and I think they need to give Brent a break,” Alan Webb said to FOX 5 in Atlanta on Tuesday.

During Monday night’s BCS title game between Alabama and Notre Dame, which Alabama won, Musburger praised the Alabama quarterback’s girlfriend’s stunning good looks and just noted what has most always been the case. Alabama quarterbacks — such as Joe Namath — date beautiful women. 

“If you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with Pop.” Musburger said during the broadcast.

If Musburger’s comments were derogatory or crossed the line, one would expect the first person to be outraged would be Webb’s father. And he clearly is not. 

But on Tuesday, ESPN felt pressure to react to some outrage over Musburger’s benign comments and issued an apology for Musburger’s statements, saying, “we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.”

Webb’s mother said students bullied Webb because she has a skin condition known as Vitiligo, which also afflicted Michael Jackson. They said the Miss USA pageant gave her increased confidence. 

“That’s actually what the Miss USA pageant did for Katherine is to help develop a better self-esteem to finally love herself.  Her self confidence grew dramatically because of that,” her mom told the station. 

Her parents said because she was mocked for her skin condition, Webb, who is “strongly involved in our church,” is a grounded person. 

Webb, a former Miss Alabama, made headlines before the game because she was an Auburn grad dating Alabama’s star quarterback. Auburn fans gave her a tough time when she, in the week leading up to the game, tweeted out, “Roll Tide.”